Building-blocks



W. L. CUSICK,

BUILDING BLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILEQ MAR. 6, H8-

1,334,599. Patented Mar. 23,1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

w. L. CUSICK.

BUILDLNG BLOCKS. APPLIC ATION FILED MAR. 6, 1918.

1,334,599, 7 Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. L. CUSICK.

BUILDING BLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. I918. 1 ,334,599, Patented Mar. 23, 1920..

SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W. L. CUSICK.

BUILDING BLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, I918- 1-,334,-599. I Patented Mar.23,1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

. g/v I W 7 g wnmn L. cusrcx, or roLLANsBnE, wnsrvmemm.

' BUILDING-BLOCKS.

' To all whom it may cancern:

i the wall thus producing a wall of a heatin- 2O cool in summer and warm in winter.

- Be it known that I, Wmnn L. CusIoK,

of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Building- Blocks, of which :the following is a specifi cation.

. This invention at... a building wall" construction and more particularly to an. improvement'in the blocks which are employed in constructing such awall.

It is one aim of the present invention to provide, in'wall construction, novel'means.

for connecting the abutting or meeting'ends of the blocks by dowels and at the same time permitting of the employment of blocks so constructed as to afi'ord'a dead air space in sulating character, rendering the building The invention also aims to provide, in

wall construction, blocks ofsuch form that the facing portion of one block will have a bead overlapping the upper edge of the face of the block below it, thus both giving an ornamental effect and serving to efl'ectually close any cracks or spaces which might otherwise occur between the meeting lower and upper faces of the superimposed blocks, and in this manner rendering the wall substantially water. and frost proof.

In theJaccompanying drawings:

Fi re 1 is aperspective view of'one of the, b ocks embodyin the present invention,

the block illustrated 1n the said figure being one .of the blocks designed for use in ordinary construction of the wall;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the construction of one of the blocks designed to be employed where a window or door opening is to be provided in the wall;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of aportion of a building wall illustrating the general arrangement ofthe blocks, in constructing a wall, certain of the corner blocks of the wall being shown provided with right hand facing blocks;

Fig. 4 is a vertical front to rear sectional view through two of the blocks disposed one upon the other;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through two of the blocks arranged end to end and illustrating the means provided for connecting the said blocks in such assembled relation;

a. citizen of the United States, residing at Follansbee, in the county of Brooke and State r Specification ot Lctters ratent- PatentedMan23, 1920.

Application 'illed March 6,1918 serial-no. 22o,714. f i

ticularly the construction and arran ment of the blocks provided for jtheanc oragef andsupport ofstuddingor joist beams; Fig. 8 is a perspective view'illnstratinga facing desigped to-be employed in. convert ing oneof't e blocks shown 1n- Fig.1 of the drawings into a corner block; a

Fig. .9- is-a similar view of the'said facing block 'but looking-at the reverse side thereof;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fi trhting a modified form of block;

'Fig.- 6 is perspective view of the -connecting element or dowel shown in Fig. 5; 5

I Fig; 7 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a building wall'andgshowing par Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one'of the blocks shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view ota further I w I '7 5 13 is a view similar to Fig. 10'illus- .trating several blocksof a modified form as-' modified form of block;

sembled; 1 p

Fig. 14 is a erspetive. view of the dowel block employed in connection with the blocks showninFig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a perspective'view of one of I the blocks shown in; Fig. 13.

The block which wine} employed is 1 greatest numbers in constructing a building wall, or in other words, the {block which will; f

be employed where there are n window or f door openings, corners, studding or joists,

and the like is illustrated most clearly in Fig. 11 of the drawingsand this'block like 'the other blocks tobepresently specifically described, maybe formed from cement, clay, or any other material ordinarily employed finished-or surfaced in any desired manner.

The said block is substantially rectangular in form and of oblong shape and hollow and includes a front wall 1, a rear or inner wall 2, to and bottom walls 3 and 4 respectively, and a partition; wall -5, the block being open atits ends. Thepartition wall 5 is located in a vertical plane parallel to the planes occupiedby the "front and rear walls 1 and 2 of the block, and the said partition Wall is located nearer, the front wall 1 than the rear Wall 2. so that between the front Wall 1 and the said partition wall 5, there is "in producing building blocks, and may be formed a socket 6 which extends the entire length of the block, is relatively narrow, and serves both as a dead air space and as a socket to receive connecting dowel blocks which will presently be described. By providiiig the partition-wall 5, there is also formed within the block, between the said partition wall and the rear wall 2, a relatively wide dead air space 7 which extends the entire length of the block. Thus the block is rendered heat insulating. In the form of block shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the outer face of the front wall 1 1s plane at its upper portion, but throughout the lower portion of the wall, the said wall is thickened soas to provide a facing 8 at the lower portion of the said forward or outer face of the wall 1, and this facing extends, as at 9, a short distance below the plane of the under side of the bottom wall 4} of the block sothat when two of the blocks are disposed in superposed relation as shown in Fig. 4: of the drawings, the bead or projecting lower edge portion 9 of the facing 8 of the upper block will overlap the u per portion of the forward or outer face 0 the front wall 1 of the lower block, thus not only concealing the line of union between the contacting lower and upper faces of the upper and lower blocks, but also closing any cracks or small openings which might occur between these faces and into which water or frost could otherwise enter to the detriment of the said blocks and, consequently, the wall as a whole. Also by the provision of the bead 9, the blocks may be more quickly assembled by disposing them one upon another as they will be known to be in proper registration and alinement when the inner face of the head 9 of any block abuts against the forward face of the front wall of the block below it. In building up the wall, the blocks will, of course, be ar ranged not only in superposed tiers, but also end to end in the several tiers which go to make up the wall, and in order that the blocks may be connected .end to end, small dowel blocks such as clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, are provided. These blocks which are indicated by the numeral 10, are quadrilateral or. substantially rectangular in cross section, are solid, and extend the full height of the socket 6. However, the blocks are slight] wedge shaped at their opposite ends as in( icated by the numeral 11, or in other words, are tapered in opposite directions from their mid portions to their ends so that when the said dowel blocks are disposed between the meeting ends of two of the blocks shown in Fig. 1

I with the said wedge-shaped ends of the dowel blocks engaged in the ends of the sockets 6, the dowel blocks will be sufiiciently securely wedged in place, when the building blocks are shoved together end to end, to firmly hold thesaid blocks alined in connected relation, as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

In connecting the blocks in each tier by solid dowels tapering at their ends as described above, after one block has been laid with its bead overhanging the face of blocks in the tier below, cement will be applied to the top of said tier and the end of the block laid, a dowel inserted partway into the socket of said block, and the next block brought into place and its socket passed over the protruding end of the dowel, at which time there is suflicient looseness to permit this block to be properly applied to and pressed into the cement upon. the tier already laid; then when it is shoved up into place so as to project both ends of the dowel into locking position, the bead slides along the corner of the tier below and no injury is done to any block. On the contrary, as the ends of the blocks come together the close fit of the dowel prevents a twisting movement which might injure the bead or result in the laying of the new block out of a true horizontal position.

Whenever it is desired to convert one of the blocks shown in Fig. 1 into a corner block, a facing block, such as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, may be employed. These facing blocks are, of course, made in rights and lefts and each block comprises a body 12 which is of general rectangular marginal outline and has a fiat inner face 13 designed to bedisposed against the right or left hand end of the block shown in Fig. 1, as the'casc may be, the said face 13 being of the same area and marginal contour as the area defined by the end of the block shown in Fig. 1. A left hand facing block is shown in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings and a right hand facin block is shown on certain of the corner %locks of the wall illustrated in Fig. 3. The outer face of the facing block 12, or in other words, that opposite the face 13, is molded to provide a facing 14 corresponding to the facing 8 and terminatin at its lower edge in a bead 15 correspoii ing to the bead 9. In like manner one end edge, or in other words, the edge of the block 12 which is to constitute the outer or forward edge when the block is in lace, is formed with a relatively narrow facing 16 terminating at its lower end in a relatively narrow or short bead 17 corresponding to the head 9 and forming a continuation of the bead 15, the facing 16 in like manner forming a continuation of the facing 14 as will be evident by reference to Fig. 9 of the drawings. In makin use of the facing blocks above describec and illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, these blocks are disposed in position either against the rightor left hand end of one of the blocks shown in Fig. 1, as the case may be, and the said facing block is then secured to the block shown in Fi 1 by plaster, cement, or in any other desire manner. The facing block when in place will,

of course, completely cover and close the end facing's of the facing blockwill form a continuation of the facing upon the said block shown in Fig. 1.

Where it is desired to provide, in the wall, a window or door opening, blocks of the genpartition 5 to provide arecessjlt). These blocks are made in rights andlefts, those in Fig. 3 being at the right 'sid'eiofthe window.

opening and that in Fig. -2 beingf'intended V i for use at the left side of a similaropening. Byreferenc'e nowto. Fig. 3 of the drawings 0 it will be understood how the window frame or door 'frame will be received within the recesses 19 insome of the superposed blocks of this type, th'ese blocks being, of course,

arranged, in connection j with the blocks shownin Fig. 1, so as to provide-a w ndow or'door opening of the proper dimensions.

Where'it" is desired to provide for the anchorage and support of studding orjoists,

blockssuch as shown in Fig. '6 of the draw ings and indicated in generalby the numeral 20, are employed, these'blocksibeingidentical in construction jwith "the, block is as stated a slightly modified form of shown in'Fig. 2 except thatlthe end of 'the socket '6 is left open, the blocksbeing arranged as clearly shown in- Fig. 7 so that the recesses which areindicated by thenumeral 21 and which correspondto the recess 19 in theblock' shown in Fig.2, may, receive the ends of the studding or joist beams indicatedby the numeral 22. 1

1 In Figs. 10 and 11. of the drawings there block. So far as general structure is concerned this block is identical with the block shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, except that as a substitute for the facing 8, eachof the blocks shown in Figs. 10 and 11 isprovided with a facing 23 formed by gradually increasing the thickness of the forward wall 1 of the block from its upper to itslower end.

so that the facing thus provided willhave a downwardly and forwardly inclined outer face, the facin being continuedb'elow the under side oftie bottom wall of'the block to provide a bead 24 designed to overlap the upper portion of the outer face of a lower block in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 10.

In order that plaster applied to the inner face of awall made up of the blocks embodying the present invention maybe caused.

to adhere to the blocks, each illustrated form of the block is formed in the exterior face of its inner or rear wall 2 with a series of longitudinally extending grooves indicated by the numeral 25, or these faces of the blocksmay be roughened-or grooved any other manner which will-accomplish thevde sired result.

The block mu tmaa ia rig, 12*oifthe' drawings is designed for employment as. a corner lock and is to be molded in rights and lefts and the said, block comprises. a

front wall 26, a rear wall 2i, and end walls. 7 i i I 28,"th6'b1b0k being open at its top and bot-. r

tom and-having'its front wall 26 andone. of its end walls 28 exteriorly thickened as at 29to correspond to the portions 8-01? the front walls of the blocks previously de'- 7 scribed; Of course, by theuse. of this form of block at the corners between the walls of a bnilding, the employment'of the facing end pieces shown in Figs. 8 and 9 of the' drawings is obviatedk The form'of block shown in as. 13, 14, d i 10 main Inthis form C 1 bWever and 15. resembles the blockshowngin Figs."

the front wall I "is of uniform'thickness throughout so that the dowel receiving re-' cesses 6 are wider'at their lower ends than their front walls inclined upwardly with relation to the planes of the rear walls, 'Fig'.

at theirupper' ends, or in otherwords have 14 illustrates the dowel which is employed in uniting the blocks shown in Figs. 13. and 15,-

and. this dowelis indicated in general by dowel shown in Fig. 6' of the drawings,\

except that the said dowel, while yet quadrilateral iii-cross section, is taperedfrom its lower edge to its upper. edge, asiindicated by the numeral 31, as ,well as being taperedin i the direction of each end from its intermediate'portion, the dowel'being thus shaped so i as to fit :within the recesses or seats6. Y In the, laying of blocks formedas shown in Figs. 13, 14 and 15, the processalready described --is'followed and the same results ensue.- Thus, whatever the exact configurationof the-dowel so'long' as it is quadrilat-.

eral in cross section-(its close fit in the sockets prevents a .relative twisting of the,

blocks in a ftier and alines them as they are laid. withifully' as much effect as would be 1 produced ifthese blocks wereconnected by a pluralityof'dowels; r w

Having thus described the invention, what;

is claimed as. new'is:

I 1. In a wall, hollow" blocks disposed superposed tiers, each block having a bead overlapping. the face of the. block in thenext tier, an-upright longitudinal partition producing an air space along the rear of the block and 'a socket just in rear'of the facing wall. and asolid dowel'engagingblocks which abut-end to end, the dowel being quadrilateral in cross section, of a size at its midlength to fit said sockets, and tapering in thickness from itsmidlength to both ends.

2. A; wall composed of superposedtiers of building blocks, each block being hollow and 95 the numeral 30 and corresponds to the of rectangular cross section except that its front wall inclines outward and downward, a bead along the lower edge of this wall overhanging the face of the tier below, a vertical partition separating a rectangular air space along the rear of the block from a longitudinal socket between said front wall and partition, the socket being quadrilateral in cross section but tapering upward, and dowels connecting adjacent blocks in a 10 tier, each dowel being solid and of a size and shape to fit alined sockets but tapering at both ends.

In testimonytwhereof I affix my signature.

WIL-FRED OUSIOK. [1 s.] 

